N.W. of Madrid

From Segovia we drove a few miles to see....

El Escorial.....
Above is a painting of the 16th c. palace which has 2,600 windows, 
1,200 doors and ....100 miles of passages. BIG !

After viewing the palace, cathedral, and the grounds
we drove a short distance to....

Valle de los Caídos  ~ Valley of the Fallen
 built 1940-1950  

note:  I am in front of those small open doors that lead to the Basilica, 
which is 300 yards long + built inside the mountain.

Interred in there are remains of 50,000 people who lost their lives in Spain's Civil War. That 33 months of warfare, killed over 500,000 Spaniards. 
This tribute is so placed that it can be viewed from miles away.  
We saw it as we continued our drive on to Madrid, 
where we returned our car.

We really enoyed our time in this country!